Fiber artist, designer, and
explorer of new ideas, Sharon L. Baker has an insatiable
curiosity to explore new ideas and methods in the use
of fiber in surface design. She likes to push the envelope
and ask the question “What if”. For example,
what if I use the wrong side of the fabric, or what
if I spray bleach on the surface of satin, or what if
I put this piece together using rivets instead of quilting
it. The questions are endless. Exploring is a frightening,
exhilarating, and tremendously satisfying endeavor.

Sharon says
of her work:

Someone once told me that
the only stupid questions are the ones you don’t
ask, so I constantly ask myself questions when I am
designing. I try to let my work be intuitive rather
than contrived. I may use existing designs and quilt
patterns, but I try to apply them in a random manner.
I like to do the unexpected. The possible loss of a
few yards of fabric is usually outweighed by wonderful
results. This has been a struggle for me because of
my engineering background, but I consciously push myself
to break traditional boundaries.

In creating wearable art, I am like a child, who at
heart still likes to play dress up. We live in a stressful
world that sometimes seems to attack us from all directions.
I like to think of the pieces I design and the creations
of my students as the armor of sanity. You wear it and
not only do you feel good, but also you give pleasure
to those who see it in passing.

Sharon is a freelance designer based in Eagle, Idaho.
She spent thirty years in the engineering field involved
in the designing of everything from sugarcane harvesters
to mechanical dinosaurs. She began quilting in 1978
when she lived in Hawaii. The whole aspect of Hawaiian
quilting had a profound effect on her personal style
and after experimenting with many different ideas to
that first quilting experience and built on the idea
of free expression in design. In 1998, she began creating
wearable art as a substitute for quilting because of
time constraints in her busy life. Designing wearable
art using many of the principles of engineering is now
her primary form of creative expression. She has taught
a variety of design classes in quilt shops and at the
community college level.

She is a member of the Boise Open Studio Collective
Organization and her work is exhibited in competitions
and galleries throughout the northwest. She was recently
the featured artist in a local television documentary
about quilters.